The Crooked Sixpence

Anyone with a Hogwarts-shaped hole in their lives can't miss this fantasy series opener. Dive into a secret underground city below London where ordinary objects are capable of extraordinary magic!

"Part Tim Burton, part J.K. Rowling! A terrific debut." --Soman Chainani, New York Times Bestselling Author of the School for Good and Evil series

Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems...

When their grandmother Sylvie is rushed to the hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what adventure lies in store. Soon their house is ransacked by unknown intruders, and a very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush.

Ivy and Seb make their escape only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, a secret underground city called Lundinor where ordinary objects have amazing powers. There are belts that enable the wearer to fly, yo-yos that turn into weapons, buttons with healing properties, and other enchanted objects capable of very unusual feats.

But the forces of evil are closing in fast, and when Ivy and Seb learn that their family is connected to one of the greatest uncommon treasures of all time, they must race to unearth the treasure and get to the bottom of a family secret . . . before it's too late.

Debut novelist Jennifer Bell delivers a world of wonder and whimsy in the start of a richly uncommon series.

Opinion

From the critics

Community Activity

Comment

The story starts in the back of a rushing ambulance during a medical emergency and never slows down. Ivy and Seb get their granma to the hospital then leave, only to find her house has been ransacked. Before they can figure that out, strangely dressed men appear at the door and threaten to arrest them. A stranger helps them steal away--by magically transporting them into an underground realm where the dead walk, the authorities pursue them, and the darkest forces are holding their parents for ransom under threat of death. All while the siblings have no idea what is going on, scrambling from one situation to the next while trying to make sense of it all.

This is a fun and inventive adventure featuring resourceful young characters and an intriguing mythology. 3.5 stars.

This book began with more promise than it showed by the end. A mashup of Harry Potter, Diana Wynne Jones, and a heap of Tim Burton, it tried to be too many things at once, and not too subtly as it did. However, I hope that this brother-sister kid team with a newly-discovered inherited ability to use common objects for their magical powers (beware of toilet brushes throwing sparks, and grab a buckled belt when you need to float out of a tunnel) will have more good stories to embrace in this continued series. The Races of the Dead may show us a few surprises!

While this is no Harry Potter, it is certainly enough of a read-alike to please kids who love adventure, magic, and young characters with the gumption and courage to take on the bad guys. A shrewder reader may be turned off by how many parallels can be drawn between J.K. Rowling's masterpiece and Bell's lesser universe, but it should satisfy most. The magical world is alive with fun details and the reader will root for the likeable characters. An advanced first or second grader might enjoy this read, save for the sometimes truly scary scenes. I would recommend this to fans of this genre, grades 3-5.

The first in a new series about enchanted items and worlds hidden from common view. Ivy and Seb Sparrow are thrown into a previously unknown world, where everything seems unbelievable. Unsure who or what to trust, Ivy and Seb must navigate Lundinor and unravel the mystery surrounding their grandmother, who has no memory of her life before a car accident in 1969. While everyday items take on properties that seem magical, Ivy soon learns the truth behind their unusual abilities, and learns of the darker side of Lundinor history. When their parents are captured and held as ransom, Ivy and Seb must pick up the pace, but multiple undead creatures and hidden identities put them at risk of not only failing to unravel the mystery surrounding their grandmother, but of losing their parents or even their own lives.